Refrigerator

ABSTRACT

The present embodiment relates to a refrigerator, and more specifically to a refrigerator capable of effectively receiving various kinds of foods in the inside of a basket by selectively shielding a door basket provided at a rear of a refrigerator door and providing a basket cover selectively fixed to an upper end of the door basket or the rear of the door. 
     The refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a main body formed with a storage chamber; a door rotatably coupled with the main body; and a door basket mounted on the door, the door basket including a basket main body storing stores and a basket cover rotatably coupled with one side of the basket main body and fixed to any one of the basket main body and the door. 
     With the refrigerator configured as above, the utility of the door basket of the refrigerator is increased.

BACKGROUND

The present embodiment relates to a refrigerator, and more specifically to a refrigerator capable of easily receiving various kinds of foods in the inside of a basket by selectively shielding a door basket for a refrigerator and providing a basket cover selectively fixed to an upper end of the door basket or a rear of the door through an improved structure of a refrigerator.

Generally, a refrigerator is to store foods at low temperature. The inside of the refrigerator is provided with a storage chamber where food is stored in a freezing state or a cooling state according to a state of foods to be stored.

The inside of the refrigerator is cooled by continuously supplying cooling air. The cold air is continuously generated by a heat exchange action of refrigerant, which repeatedly performs a cycle of compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation. And, the cooling air supplied to the inside of the refrigerator is uniformly transferred to the inside of the refrigerator by convection, making it possible to store foods in the inside of the refrigerator at a desired temperature.

The refrigerator tends to get bigger and have multi-functionality in line with various tastes of users and a change of eating habits. Thereby, products having various configurations have been launched.

Generally, a storage space formed in the inside of a refrigerator main body may be partitioned into a freezing chamber and a cooling chamber so as to permit a cooling storage or freezing storage of foods.

Also, the main body of the refrigerator may rotatably be coupled with a refrigerator door to shield cooling air circulating the inside of the refrigerator. And, a rear of the refrigerator door may be provided with a plurality of baskets receiving stores.

Also, the basket may be provided with a basket cover that shields at least a portion of the basket.

And, the basket cover may generally be formed of a transparent material to be able to confirm the stores therein. And, the basket cover is rotated based on a predetermined rotation axis to open and close the storage space in the inside of the basket.

Also, an end of the basket cover is provided with a handle to be able to easily open and close the basket cover.

However, the related art as described above has the following problems.

With the related art, since the upper side of the basket included in the refrigerator is configured to be opened, when it receives foods giving out as inherent smell such as dairy products or salted fish, a problem arise in that the smell from the dairy products or the salted fish is diffused in the refrigerator.

Also, since the basket cover is not formed with a sealing structure sealing the stores therein from the outside, a problem arises in that the smell from foods received in the basket is effectively not shielded.

Also, when foods with long length such as a bottle is received in the inside of the basket cover, since the upper end of the received foods is interfered with the basket cover, a problem arises in that the storage of foods is difficult.

Also, with the aforementioned problems, since the dairy products and the beverage bottle, etc are separated and stored from each other, a problem arises in that user convenience is degraded.

SUMMARY

An embodiment of the present invention proposes to solve the problems of the related art as described above. It is an object of the present embodiment to provide a refrigerator sealing stores in the inside of a door basket from the outside by providing a basket cover selectively sealing an inner space of the door basket.

Also, it is an object of the present embodiment to provide a refrigerator capable of easily receiving various kinds of foods in the inside of a basket by selectively fixing a basket cover to an upper end of a door basket or a rear of a door through an improved structure of the basket cover.

There is provided a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, comprising: a main body formed with a storage chamber; a door rotatably coupled with the main body; and a door basket mounted on the door, the door basket including a basket main body storing stores and a basket cover rotatably coupled with one side of the basket main body and fixed to any one of the basket main body and the door.

There is provided a refrigerator according to another embodiment, comprising: a main body formed with a storage chamber; a door rotatably coupled with the main body; a basket main body detachably coupled with the door and having an opened upper surface; a basket cover selectively shielding an upper surface of the basket main body; and a cover fixing unit selectively fixing the basket cover to a rear of the door.

There is provided a refrigerator according to another embodiment, comprising: a main body formed with a storage chamber; a door rotatably coupled with the main body; a basket main body detachably coupled with the door and having an opened upper surface; a basket cover selectively shielding an upper surface of the basket main body; and in a state where the basket cover shields the upper surface of the basket main body, a cover fixing means locked to the basket main body.

There is provided a refrigerator according to another embodiment, comprising: a main body formed with a storage chamber; a door rotatably coupled with the main body; and a door basket provided with a basket main body detachably coupled with the door and a basket cover selectively shielding an opened upper surface of the basket main body, the basket cover being provided with a first locking part locked to the basket main body in a state where the basket main body is shielded and a second locking part locked to the door in a state where the basket main body is opened.

According to the refrigerator with the configuration, the door basket can selectively shielded by the basket cover so that foods stored in the basket, for example, foods with great possibility to diffuse the inherent smell such as the dairy products or the salted fish into the inside of the main body are sealed from the outside, making it possible to reduce the smell of foods in the inside of the refrigerator.

And, when foods with a height higher than that of the inner space of the door basket, such as a beverage bottle or a water bottle are stored, the basket cover is rotated to be fixed to the rear of the door, making it possible to increase the utility of the door basket.

Also, the basket cover is operated according to the kinds of foods stored in the basket so that the receiving space of the basket can properly controlled, making it possible to increase user convenience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state where a refrigerator door according to a first embodiment of the present invention is opened.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where a basket cover is shielded to a door basket of the refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the basket cover is opened.

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state where the door basket receives dairy products.

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state where the door basket receives a beverage bottle.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a structure of a door basket of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state where a basket cover of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment of the present invention is opened.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a refrigerator according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state where a refrigerator door according to a first embodiment of the present invention is opened.

Referring to FIG. 1, a refrigerator 100 according a first embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 110 forming an outer appearance and having a storage chamber formed therein and doors 130, 140 rotatably coupled with the main body 110.

In detail, the storage chamber is partitioned into a freezing chamber 112 for storing foods in a freezing state and a cooling chamber 113 for storing foods in a cooling state by means of a partition part 120. And, the doors 130, 140 is divided into a freezing chamber door 130 selectively shielding the freezing chamber 112 and a cooling chamber door 140 selectively shielding the cooling chamber 113.

Also, the freezing chamber 112 and the cooling chamber 113 are provided with a plurality of shelves 150 to receive stores. And, the inner spaces of the freezing chamber 112 and the cooling chamber 113 are partitioned by means of the shelves 150.

Also, the rears of the freezing chamber door 130 and the cooling chamber door 140 are provided with a plurality of door baskets 200.

And, the door basket 200 is further provided with a basket main body 210 storing the stores and a basket cover 220 rotatably coupled with one side of the basket main body 210 to selectively shield the inner space of the door basket 200.

The door basket 200 may detachably be coupled with the freezing door 130 and the cooling chamber door 140. And, the freezing chamber door 130 and the cooling chamber door 140 is formed with a basket mounting part (not shown) on which the door basket 200 is mounted.

And, the door basket 200 can be fitted in the basket mounting part.

And, the basket cover 220 may selectively be fixed to the rears of the doors 130, 140 and the upper end of the basket main body according to kinds of foods received in the inside of the door basket 200 by means of a cover fixing means to be described later.

Hereinafter, the structure of the door basket 200 will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the basket cover is shielded to the door basket of the refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the basket cover is opened.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the door basket 200 according to the first embodiment of the present invention has a rectangular parallelepiped with a horizontal length longer than a vertical length.

In detail, the door basket 200 includes a basket main body 210 storing the stores and a basket cover 220 rotatably coupled to one side of the basket main body 210.

And, the basket main body 210 has a shape that its upper surface is opened and the basket cover 220 can selectively shield the opened upper surface of the basket main body 210.

In more detail, the basket main body 210 is formed with cover coupling parts 250 so that it is coupled with the door basket 200. And, the cover coupling parts 250 are provided at the rear upper end of the basket main body 210 and the cover coupling part 250 are formed with hinge parts 252 so that they is hinge-coupled with the basket cover 220. Herein, the cover coupling part 250 and the hinge part 252 may be formed at both ends of the basket main body 210, respectively.

And, a rotation restricting part 260, which is extended to the same height as the cover coupling part 250 to restrict a range rotated to the rear of the basket cover 220, is formed between the cover coupling parts 250. The basket cover 220 may be rotated to the basket main body 210 in a range of approximately 90° from a closed state by means of the rotation restricting part 260.

Also, the upper end of the basket main body 210 is provided with a shielding projection 270 as the cover fixing means locked to the basket cover 220 while the basket cover 220 is closed.

And, the lower side of the basket cover 220 is provided with a lower projection 226 as another fixing part locked to the shielding projection 270 while the basket cover 220 is closed.

And, while the shielding projection 270 is locked to the lower projection 226, bent portions of the shielding projection 270 and the lower projection 226 may be locked to each other.

And, the storage space of the basket main body 210 may be sealed by the lock of the shielding projection 270 and the lower projection 226.

Meanwhile, the drawing shows the shielding projection 270 formed at a center of the front upper end of the basket main body 200; however, it can be formed at the upper ends of both sides thereof according to a position of the lower projection 226 and formed at the front and the upper ends of both sides thereof.

Also, the upper end of the basket cover 220 is formed with an upper side projecting part 224 as the cover fixing means, which is projected upwardly and locked to the refrigerator doors 130, 140 while the basket cover 220 is opened.

And, the basket cover 220 is formed with a bent part 225 bent and extended in a vertical direction from one side end of the upper side projecting part 224. Herein, the bent part 225 is maintained in a locked state while the basket cover 220 is locked to the refrigerator doors 130, 140.

In other words, the upper surface of the basket cover 220 is formed with the upper side projecting part 224 having an approximately

shape and the bent part 225. And, the upper side projecting part 224 and the bent part 225 are locked to a cover fixing part 132 to be described later.

Also, the lower side of the basket cover 220 is provided with a shielding member 230 for sealing the inner space of the basket main body 210 by means of the basket cover 220 while the lower projection 226 is engaged with the shielding projection 270.

Herein, the shielding member 230 may not be provided a place where the lower projection 226 is positioned.

The shielding member 230 may be formed of an elastic material. And, in order to easily seal the inner space of the basket main body 210, the shielding member 230 may have a thickness equal to or more than a height at a state where the lower projection 226 is engaged with the shielding projection 270.

Also, the basket main body 210 is provided with a basket engaging part 240 engaged with the basket mounting part (not shown) provided at the rears of the doors 130, 140 while the basket main body 210 is mounted on the doors 130, 140.

And, the basket engaging part 240 is provided with a mounting projection 242 inserted into the basket mounting part. Of course, the basket mounting part may be formed with an insert groove into which the mounting projection 242 is inserted.

On the contrary, the basket engaging part 240 may be formed with the insert groove and the basket mounting part may be formed with the mounting projection.

With the aforementioned configuration, the door basket 200 may be mounted on the rears of the doors 130, 140 by a fitting manner.

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state where the door basket receives dairy products and FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state where the door basket receives a beverage bottle.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the refrigerator doors 130, 140 according to the first embodiment of the present invention are provided with the cover fixing part 132 as the cover fixing means locked to the upper side projecting part 224 of the basket cover 220 while the basket cover 220 is opened.

And, the cover fixing part 132 may be formed to be projected to the outside from the rears of the refrigerator doors 130, 140. And, the cover fixing part 132 has a

shape where the front portion is more slightly collapsed than the rear portion.

Meanwhile, if the basket cover 220 is completely opened, the upper side projecting part 224 is locked to the cover fixing part 132. And, the bent part 225 contacts the upper surface of the cover fixing part 132.

Also, the shielding projection 270 is formed to be projected upwardly from the front upper end of the basket main body 200, wherein the projected end is formed in a hook shape.

In other words, the upper end of the shielding projection 270 has a slope and is projected forward as it is going from the upper side to the lower side and the central portion of the shielding projection 270 is collapsed toward a rear side to form a locking projection.

And, the lower projection 226 has a shape corresponding to the shielding projection 270. In other words, the upper end of the lower projection 226 has a slope and is collapsed forward as it is going from the upper side to the lower side and the central portion of the lower projection 226 is projected forward to form a locking projection.

As described above, the shielding projection 270 and the lower projection 226 are interfered with each other so that the basket cover 220 can be maintained in a state where the inner space of the basket main body 210 is sealed.

As shown in the drawing, the inner space of the basket main body 210 is maintained in the sealed state by the basket cover 220. And, the dairy product D received in the basket main body 210 may be maintained in a fresh state.

Also, the shielding member 230 of the elastic material provided at the lower side of the basket cover 230 is formed to have a thickness thicker than the height of the state where the shielding projection 270 is engaged with the lower projection 226.

And, while the shielding projection 270 is engaged with the lower projection 226, the shielding member is elastically deformed to firmly shield a gap between the basket cover 220 and the basket main body 210, thereby improving the sealing performance.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a case where the length of the beverage bottle B stored in the inside of the cooling chamber is longer than the height of the inner space of the basket main body 210. Accordingly, the beverage bottle B is received in the basket main body 210 in the state where the basket cover 220 is opened.

And, the basket cover 220 is rotated by 90° based on the hinge part 252 and the upper side projecting part 224 provided at the upper surface of the basket cover 220 is locked to the cover fixing part 132.

And, the bent part 225 is maintained in a state where it contacts the upper surface of the cover fixing part 132. Meanwhile, in order to maintain the coupled state of the basket cover 220, the bent part 225 may be formed of a material with predetermined elasticity.

In other words, while the basket cover 220 is opened to lock the upper side projecting part 224 to the cover fixing part 132, the bent part 225 is elastically deformed to maintain a state where it is closely attached to the upper surface of the cover fixing 132

Thereafter, if the upper side projecting unit 224 is completely locked to the cover fixing part 132, the bent part 225 can be inserted into the rear portion of the cover fixing part 132, that is, the collapsed portion thereof.

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The present embodiment will be described based on the differences from the first embodiment. The same portions will be indicated by the reference numerals of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a structure of a door basket of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state where a basket cover of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment of the present invention is opened.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the door basket 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention includes the basket main body 210 storing the stores and the basket cover 220 provided at the upper side of the basket main body 210 to be rotatably coupled therewith based on the hinge part 252.

In detail, both sides of the basket main body 210 are formed with the cover coupling parts 250 so that the basket cover 220 is fitted therein.

The cover coupling part 250 is formed to be projected upwardly from at the rear end upper sides of both sides of the basket main body 210, wherein the projected portion is formed in an overturned Ω shape. And, the hinge part 252 formed at the basket cover 220 is forcibly inserted through the upper thereof and is rotatably formed at the central portion.

The upper end of the basket main body 210 is formed with a lower locking groove 310 as the cover fixing means locked to the basket cover 220 in the state where the basket cover 220 is closed.

Herein, the lower locking groove 310 is formed to be collapsed inwardly from the front of the upper ends on both sides of the basket main body 210.

Also, the lower surface of the basket cover 220 is provided with a first locking part 320 as the cover fixing means inserted into the lower locking groove 310 while the basket cover 220 is closed. Herein, the first locking part 320 may be formed of a material with predetermined elasticity and may have a hook shape.

In other words, the first locking unit 320 is received and fixed in the lower locking groove 310. To this end, although not shown in the drawing, the inner side of the lower locking groove 310 may be formed with a locking projection so that the end of the first locking part 320 is locked thereto.

Also, the upper surface of the basket cover 220 may be provided with a second locking part 330 as the cover fixing means locked to the refrigerator doors 130, 140 in the state where the basket cover is opened.

And, the second locking part 330 is projected upwardly from the upper front end of the basket cover 220 and may be formed in the same hook shape as the first locking part 320.

Referring to FIG. 7, the cooling chamber door 140 is formed with a upper locking groove 340 as the cover fixing means, the upper locking groove 340 being locked to the second locking part 330 when the second locking part 330 is inserted into the upper locking groove.

In other words, the upper locking groove 340 is formed to be collapsed inwardly from the rear of the refrigerator door 140, thereby fixing the basket cover 220 while the basket main body 210 is opened.

And, the upper locking groove 340 may be formed at a position where the second locking part 330 can be inserted when the basket cover 220 is opened, in the state where the basket main body 210 is mounted on the refrigerator.

And, the inner side of the upper locking groove 340 may be formed with the locking projection so that the end of the second locking part 330 is locked thereto.

Therefore, when the foods such as the beverage bottle is stored in the inside of the basket main body 210, the second locking part 330 is engaged with the upper locking groove 340 to maintain the basket cover in the opened state.

The scope of the present embodiment is not limited to the foregoing embodiments, but those skilled in the art can make many other modifications based on the present embodiment. 

1. A refrigerator, comprising: a main body formed with a storage chamber; a door rotatably coupled with the main body; and a door basket mounted on the door, the door basket including a basket main body storing stores and a basket cover rotatably coupled with one side of the basket main body and fixed to any one of the basket main body and the door.
 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the basket main body is provided with a shielding projection locked to the basket cover, the basket cover being provided with a lower projection provided at a position corresponding to the shielding projection and locked to the shielding projection.
 3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the shielding projection is projected from an upper end of the basket main body and the lower projection is projected downwardly from a lower surface of the basket cover.
 4. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the shielding projection and the lower projection have a hook shape.
 5. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the basket cover is rotatably coupled with an upper side of the basket main body.
 6. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the basket cover is formed with a projecting part locked to the refrigerator door, the refrigerator door being provided with a cover fixing part locked to the projecting part.
 7. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the basket cover is provided with a shielding member sealing the inside of the basket main body while the basket cover seals the basket main body.
 8. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the basket main body is formed with a lower locking groove locked to the basket cover, the basket cover being provided with a first locking part that can be inserted into the lower locking groove.
 9. The refrigerator according to claim 8, wherein an inner side of the lower locking groove is provided with a locking projection and the first locking part has a hook shape so that it is locked to the locking projection.
 10. A refrigerator according, comprising: a main body formed with a storage chamber; a door rotatably coupled with the main body; a basket main body detachably coupled with the door and having an opened upper surface; a basket cover selectively shielding an upper surface of the basket main body; and a cover fixing unit selectively fixing the basket cover to a rear of the door.
 11. The refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the cover fixing means is provided with a cover fixing part provided on a rear of the door and a projection part formed at the basket cover and locked to the cover fixing part.
 12. The refrigerator according to claim 11, wherein the cover fixing part is formed to be projected from the rear of the door, the projected portion being formed to be projected upwardly from the upper surface of the basket cover.
 13. The refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the cover fixing means is provided with a locking groove formed at the rear of the door and a locking part provided at the basket cover and inserted into the locking groove.
 14. The refrigerator according to claim 13, wherein an inner side of the locking groove is formed with a locking projection and the locking part has a hook shape to be locked to the locking projection.
 15. A refrigerator, comprising: a main body formed with a storage chamber; a door rotatably coupled with the main body; and a door basket detachably coupled with the door, being provided with a basket main body and a basket cover selectively shielding an opened upper surface of the basket main body, the basket cover being provided with a first locking part locked to the basket main body in a state where the basket main body is shielded and a second locking part locked to the door in a state where the basket main body is opened.
 16. The refrigerator according to claim 15, wherein a rear of the door is formed with an upper locking groove locked to the second locking part.
 17. The refrigerator according to claim 16, wherein the upper locking groove is formed with a locking projection and the second locking part has a hook shape to be locked to the locking projection.
 18. The refrigerator according to claim 15, wherein the basket main body is formed with a lower locking groove locked to the first locking part.
 19. The refrigerator according to claim 18, wherein the lower locking groove is formed with the locking projection and the first locking part has a hook shape to be locked to the locking projection. 